DeepNude app that undressed women removed after public outrage

The creators of the app “DeepNude” have shut it down citing the high probability of its misuse. The application allowed users to virtually “undress” women using Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered algorithms. It received a lot of flak on social media over its potential for abuse. The creators of the app said that the software was launched several months ago for “entertainment” purposes and that they “greatly underestimated” its demand.

"We never thought it would be viral and (that) we would not be able to control the traffic. Despite the safety measures adopted (watermarks), if 500,000 people use it, the probability that people will misuse it is too high. We don't want to make money this way,” the DeepNude creators, who listed their location as Estonia, said on Twitter. The app used Deepfake technology, which combines and superimposes existing images and videos onto source images or videos using a machine learning technique.

pic.twitter.com/8uJKBQTZ0o

— deepnudeapp (@deepnudeapp) 27 June 2019

“Surely some copies of DeepNude will be shared on the web, but we don't want to be the ones who sell it. Downloading the software from other sources or sharing it any other means would be against the terms of our website. From now on, DeepNude will not release other versions and does not grant anyone its use. Not even the licenses to activate the Premium version,” the creators said.

Several media reports have noted how the app could be used to take a photo of a clothed woman and transform that into a nude image. Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), which seeks protection against “revenge” porn tweeted, “This is a horrifically destructive invention and we hope to see you soon suffer consequences for your actions.” CCRI President Mary Anne Franks later tweeted, “It's good that it's been shut down, but this reasoning makes no sense. The app's INTENDED USE was to indulge the predatory and grotesque sexual fantasies of pathetic men.”

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Redmi K20, Vivo Z1 Pro, Mi CC9, LG W Series, and Other Tech News This Week

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Tata Sky reduces prices of its set-top boxes again

Tata sky has reduced the prices of its set-top boxes again. As per the second revision in the prices of the boxes, the Tata Sky HD set-top box will now be available at Rs 1,499, and the SD set-top box will cost Rs 1,399. The DTH provider’s move is seen as its aim to further expand its presence in the country. The latest price cuts also likely to encourage the sale of the HD variant owing to just Rs 100 difference between the prices of the two boxes.

It should be noteworthy that this reduction in prices is up to Rs 300 from the previous price cut. After the previous price cut which was announced last month, Tata Sky HD set-top box was available for Rs 1,800, while the SD variant was priced at Rs 1,600. In comparison, Dish TVs HD set-top box is priced at Rs 1,590 and the SD variant is available at Rs 1,490.

The move comes two weeks after the company discontinued multi-TV connection plans from June 15, which means that users with a multi-TV connection would have to pay for each and every connection separately that they have at their homes. After facing backlash from its users, the company announced a new ‘Room TV service' that is aimed at making it more ‘feasible’ for consumers to select TV packs on their multi-TV connections.

Users with secondary connections can now have different channels and services on all connections. “Subscribers can seamlessly choose the content of their choice on the secondary connections and only pay for the selected content. Their secondary connections can now have different channels and services from the base pack selected for the first connection in the house under the same subscriber ID,” Tata Sky had said. The new option can be accessed via the company’s website or the Tata Sky mobile app.

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In Stranger Things 3, the Hawkins Crew Feel the Pain of Growing Up

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US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei: Trump

Offering an olive branch to Huawei Technologies, US President Donald Trump has said that the administration will now allow the Silicon Valley companies to resume business with the companies. This likely means that the Chinese telecom equipment maker and 70 of its affiliates will be removed from an “entity list” which forbids US companies from doing business with it. The move comes as the Washington agreed to restart trade talks in order to reduce tensions with Beijing.

“We’re right back on track,” Trump said at an 80-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 (G20) summit of major economies in Osaka, Japan. “US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei. We’re talking about equipment where there’s no great national security problem with it,” he added.

“These are American companies producing the products. This is complex ... highly scientific. We are the only one with the technology. I have agreed to allow them to continue selling the products … I like our companies selling things to others ... very complex things. These are not things easy to make ... our companies were very upset, but we are allowing them. So if it is not a national security issue, we are allowing them to sell,” the US President noted.

According to a report, US-based chipmakers, like Qualcomm and Intel, lobbied, and quietly pressed the US government to ease restrictions on the sale of equipment and services to the Chinese tech giant. It was reported that executives from Intel and Xilinx Inc attended a meeting in late May with the US Commerce Department to discuss a response to Huawei’s placement on the entity list. “This isn’t about helping Huawei. It’s about preventing harm to American companies,” one of the people was quoted as saying.

Reportedly, out of $70 billion that Huawei spent buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to US firms including Qualcomm, Intel and Micron Technology Inc. The Chinese tech giant also works with companies like Google and Microsoft, and uses their software in phones and computers. Further, telecom giants like Vodafone and EE also shrug their shoulders and followed other companies in cutting ties with the company in the European market.

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The man whose resignation cost Apple $9 billion

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WhatsApp has a positive impact on psychological health of users, finds study

Online communications apps and the amount of time people spend using them has been a topic of debate for a long time now. At a time when social media apps are introducing digital well-being tools to their platforms, a new study published in the Journal of Human-Computer Studies has found that using apps like WhatsApp has a positive impact on mental health. 

The study was conducted on 200 WhatsApp users who completed an online questionnaire measuring their usage of WhatsApp and motivations, online bonding, quality of relationships, group identity, and psychosocial outcomes. The study found that online bonding through WhatsApp, which also facilitates group chats and calling, makes people feel less lonely and has a positive impact on their self esteem. 

The study titled 'Psychosocial Outcomes Associated with Engagement with Online Chat Systems' has 158 female and 42 male participants. It found that "minutes per day using WhatsApp was positively related to quality of relationships".

"The more time people spent on WhatsApp, the more this related to them feeling close to their friends and family and they perceived these relationships to be good quality," said Dr Linda Kaye, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, England-based Edge Hill University.

"It gives rise to the notion that social technology such as WhatsApp may stimulate existing relationships and opportunities for communication, thereby enhancing aspects of the users' positive well-being," she added.

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Amazon Air has started operations in Anchorage, Alaska, which could allow Amazon to expand its in-house logistics to moving goods to and from Asia (Rachel Premack/Business Insider)

Rachel Premack / Business Insider:
Amazon Air has started operations in Anchorage, Alaska, which could allow Amazon to expand its in-house logistics to moving goods to and from Asia  —  - Observers say Amazon is building a logistics empire to compete with UPS and FedEx.  — Beginning June 27, Amazon will start daily operations …

15-year-old stabs brother to death for not letting him play PUBG Mobile

A 15-year-old boy from Thane, Mumbai allegedly killed his elder brother who was scolding him for playing PUBG Mobile, the police have said. 19-year-old victim Mohammad Shaikh has asked his younger brother to stop playing PUBG Mobile on his phone and this allegedly resulted in the boy flying into a fit of rage.

PTI reports, quoting senior police inspector Mamata D’Souza, that the minor allegedly banged Shaikh’s head against the wall and then repeatedly stabbed him with a pair of scissors after being repremanded for playing PUBG Mobile.

Shaikh was taken to a government hospital after the incident occurred but he had succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on arrival. 

A case has been registered by the police under section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

PUBG Mobile has been associated with several violent incidents in the past, resulting in murders and even suicides. The battle royale game is hugely popular in India and has been considered to have a negative impact on children. However, it is important to consider that just like any other game, this one too should be played in moderation.

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Booster, which enables fuel delivery directly to cars via an app in more than 20 US cities, raises $56M Series C, bringing total raised to $88.5M (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Booster, which enables fuel delivery directly to cars via an app in more than 20 US cities, raises $56M Series C, bringing total raised to $88.5M  —  Booster, a San Mateo, California-based startup offering same-day fuel delivery service in the U.S., today announced that it's raised $56 million …

Creative Group, which offers mobile phone top-ups and e-vouchers for iTunes, Google, Spotify, Xbox, PlayStation, and other online services, raises €22M (Andrii Degeler/Tech.eu)

Andrii Degeler / Tech.eu:
Creative Group, which offers mobile phone top-ups and e-vouchers for iTunes, Google, Spotify, Xbox, PlayStation, and other online services, raises €22M  —  Creative Group, a fintech startup headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, has landed a €22 million in funding from Prime Ventures …

Google reduced ability of device manufacturers to use Android alternatives: Competition Commission of India

Google has been accused of imposing “unfair conditions” on device manufacturers and abusing the popularity of its Android platform by the competition watchdog in India. It was earlier reported that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation into Google’s anti-competitive practices in India, but the details of that directive were not disclosed at the time.

Now, a Reuters exclusive bares those details after conducting a review of CCI’s 14-page order. The said order reveals that the CCI found Google imposing “unfair conditions” on device manufacturers. It says that by making pre-installation of Google apps conditional, the company has, “reduced the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operated on alternate versions of Android,” thereby flouting India’s competition laws. “It amounts to prima facie leveraging of Google’s dominance,” CCI said in the order.

Last week, it was reported that CCI is scanning Google’s agreements with OEMs and the conditions which the company places in those agreements. The CCI is said to have handed letters to several OEMs asking about their relationship with Google.

The investigation unit of CCI is expected to complete the probe into Google’s activities within 150 days of the April 14 order by CCI. However, as happens in cases like these, the matter could be dragged out for longer. 

In a similar case last year, Google was fined $5 billion by the EU antitrust regulators for abusing the dominance of its Android platform.

According to Reuters, the complainants in the India case allege that Google engaged in similar anti-competitive practices in India “with the aim of cementing Google’s dominant position”.

Last year, a fine of $20 million was imposed on Google by the CCI for Search bias and abusing its dominant position. Google’s appeal against the fine is still pending.

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EU-based IT-consultant Capgemini to buy Altran for $4.1B, to fill the gap in its services competing with rivals like Accenture for IoT, 5G, and AI contracts (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
EU-based IT-consultant Capgemini to buy Altran for $4.1B, to fill the gap in its services competing with rivals like Accenture for IoT, 5G, and AI contracts  —  Capgemini SE said it will acquire Altran Technologies SA for 14 euros-a-share to expand its software engineering network with internet and technology companies.

Data mining and ad targeting company LiveRamp, formerly known as Acxiom, to acquire Data Plus Math, which helps advertisers analyze TV viewer data, for $150M (Patience Haggin/Wall Street Journal)

Patience Haggin / Wall Street Journal:
Data mining and ad targeting company LiveRamp, formerly known as Acxiom, to acquire Data Plus Math, which helps advertisers analyze TV viewer data, for $150M  —  Cash-and-stock deal, valued at $150 million, combines companies' data sets that help advertisers check efficiency of campaigns

6 tips to keep your Facebook account safe

If one is careful, Facebook has robust tools and settings that can ensure your account is safe from prying eyes as well as invaders and stalkers. https://ift.tt/2FImYYb